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I ask for director of footballs and head of recruitment and what not. But manager has to have a list thst he gives out to these folks and then they do the rest, if they can't get a particular guy then so be it, they move to next in the list. That way the manager doesn't get to think "id rather get a defender in for 30mn then get my b lister striker for 30mn". But it is ridiculous if we are signing players without consulting the manager.

It looks we are going to get a "coach" only and he won't be involved with player recruitment at all

I wouldn't write off any of these guys signing they know what they are doing one of them is Dortmund veteran another one is Barca veteran.
Actually it's better to have a head coach with a brand new coaching team working with the head coach to shape up the players n make tactical decision during the game.

The Barca structure is way better than Wenger structure, where a backroom team will call the shots how the team wants to play what's the long time vision for team to progress and even not just the head coach a director of football will be involved in tactical preparation of the team for each game throughout the season.

Having said that, I do have strong reservation on Arteta, I think they could do far better than Arteta even recruiting the head coach.

Seri is offensive and he isn't very tall. I thought we were going more physical players considering we have xhaka. Either ways i dont understand that the same players that run with 50mn pounds budget stories run with us blowing 40mn on seri.

I d be very surprised if we bought any player that we knew the name of this season. It's gonna be like mavropanos, of course more experienced, but not someone touted by the press until the deal is very close.

The new manager has to first prove himself and they may give more money next season based on his ability the work with what he has. They might also be willing to sacrifice another season without champions league.

The first target for the new man might just be chairmen for the top 4 and do better than wenger last year, even if he finished 5th. If wenger were still in charge, we d have write off this season as well, so I'm not too worried

CazOnARolaI d be very surprised if we bought any player that we knew the name of this season. It's gonna be like mavropanos, of course more experienced, but not someone touted by the press until the deal is very close.
The new manager has to first prove himself and they may give more money next season based on his ability the work with what he has. They might also be willing to sacrifice another season without champions league.

The first target for the new man might just be chairmen for the top 4 and do better than wenger last year, even if he finished 5th. If wenger were still in charge, we d have write off this season as well, so I'm not too worried

Agreed, get ready for all the full of potential but unknown players n that’s why they want to have a understudy head coach. It’s rebuilding time but while rebuilding they need to be careful of not junking the squad which is already pretty sh.t gifted from Wenger era. If they follow the Liverpool rebuilding model then they need to sign odd Suarez, Coutinho type potential future world class players, not easy to find but that’s the gamble.
The most important thing with this strategy is to move fast n get the business done swiftly.

Our scouting failed us miserably. Coutinho cost less than 20 and sureaz about 22.

Wenger was right in saying that price didn't always dictate the quality of a player. But the pbm of course was poor scouting network kept suggesting the gervinho s and wellington silvas of the world instead we had players like coutinho (who always had good dribble and shooting abilities, other things he improved on) or even mahrez or kante bought by Leicester.

The are plenty of good players out there considering the pool of players available around.

Our scouting in SA has been absolutely @#$%& and most of the flair players come from that continent.

“Arsenal are currently the clear odds-on favourites at 1/2 to sign N’Zonzi as the newly appointed Emery looks to strengthen a Gunners squad that could only manage to secure sixth place in the Premier League this season.
“Arsenal’s North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur are priced as second favourites at 5/1,
“Manchester United and Chelsea remain the clear market outsiders at 8/1 and 10/1 respectively for the former Stoke man.”

....................................................

Now, that is what we need in the centre, a powerful and physical N'Zonzi who had been around with Stoke City.

'Most owners take out of the club and Vichai just put in. Without him, we would not have won the Premier League. It was a once-in-a-lifetime thing.' Danny Barry, a Leicester City fan for 64 years.

Lichsteiner would be good. A proper top defender, good size. Deceptively fast speed for a big sized RB. Solid and spent years of Juve, so schooled right!. Right now, "solid" is what the team needs. Hope this is done. And for free!

Lichsteiner would be good. A proper top defender, good size. Deceptively fast speed for a big sized RB. Solid and spent years of Juve, so schooled right!. Right now, "solid" is what the team needs. Hope this is done. And for free!

Agree but the only thing he passed his time not really an exciting signing but could be pragmatic signing n if it happens will be good for Europa competition.

tigerlineWe are not that fast up front.
One more piece that we need to add is a young, speedy winger that can be properly trained and developed into a tactical weapon - unlike what happened during the lost and wasted years of Theo Walcott.

He can develop Nelson, Adelaide all he wants, but if he wants to keep his job, don't do a Wenger by putting development ahead of trophies. People are generally excited by young talent but Nelson is not even half ready. He should be loaned out to gain real first team experience.

How many goals and assist did Nelson contribute when he came on? Compare that to a Mahrez or Fekir who are proven players who scores loads and makes assists. I am sick of Arsenal being a school, and having a 'father figure' as our manager. Young players should only get games if they prove they are better than the others, not by virtue of being a young talent. Iwobi was a case in point, did he really get all those games based on merit? Or just that Arsene liked him immensely as a person (not footballer) or to show the footballing world that he develops young players.

The Rooneys and the Gerrards, Cesc, they were exceptional at a very young age, hence deserved their breakthroughs. Don't get me wrong, I want them Nelson, Adelaide to succeed and be our own developed Messi but only if they deserve it.

litmus... Don't get me wrong, I want them Nelson, Adelaide to succeed and be our own developed Messi but only if they deserve it.

Need to give Emery a chance to bring players like Nelson to their maximum potential quickly and get them ready to play in the first team. Emery will get performance metrics from Gazidis which he needs to meet to keep his job and I am sure they will include winning something or getting more points in the league or making top 4. He will not jeopardise meeting his metrics to experiment with youngsters in his team especially when they are not ready.

There's a bit of talk going round that we are trying to sign N'Zonzi from Savile. He's been talked about transferring to us for a couple of years now. Maybe it's about to happen. A possible replacement for Wilshere, I'd suggest.

weedzThere's a bit of talk going round that we are trying to sign N'Zonzi from Savile. He's been talked about transferring to us for a couple of years now. Maybe it's about to happen. A possible replacement for Wilshere, I'd suggest.

weedzThere's a bit of talk going round that we are trying to sign N'Zonzi from Savile. He's been talked about transferring to us for a couple of years now. Maybe it's about to happen. A possible replacement for Wilshere, I'd suggest.

N'Zonzi is nothing like Wilshere.

You are quite correct there, OG. A physical upgrade is what I meant to say.

Lichsteiner is a done deal. Underwhelming first signing and nothing to get excited about but probably a logical move. We needed a backup right back and he adds experience and hopefully some leadership to the squad. And no point on spending lots on a backup player.

It tells me we are only linked with them and the media make stuff up. I thought you liked Sokratis and you can't quibble too much about a RB who played 30+ games for Juventus and will provide short term cover for Bellerin

tigerlineWe are not that fast up front.
One more piece that we need to add is a young, speedy winger that can be properly trained and developed into a tactical weapon - unlike what happened during the lost and wasted years of Theo Walcott.

Reading that Arsenal might be pursuing Malcolm and Gelson which would confirm that we do see the need to fill that missing component.

tigerlineWe are not that fast up front.
One more piece that we need to add is a young, speedy winger that can be properly trained and developed into a tactical weapon - unlike what happened during the lost and wasted years of Theo Walcott.

Reading that Arsenal might be pursuing Malcolm and Gelson which would confirm that we do see the need to fill that missing component.

Anything remotely pacy and slightly intelligent costs upward of 35mn. Expect that to be Aubameyang and to an extent welbeck for the coming season and Nelson in the cups.

Leno is no upgrade over Cech. In fact there's not many exceptional keepers around unlike previous era. Even the best England keeprs - Hart, Butland, Pope, Heaton is nowhere near the levels of Schmeicel, Seaman, Shilton, Jennings, Southall.

I know Cech is on the wane, but unless we can get Neuer or Ter Stegen, we shouldn't spend half of our transfer budget on an average keeper.

I'd rather use the little money available and focus on other positions. Cech can still do the job if we have a much better defense in front of him. Better defenders and a proper defensive system and coaching is key.

We WILL be selling players.
Those sales will enlarge our budget sufficiently.
We HAVE to sign a new No. 1 keeper.
To say that Cech is on the wane is putting it mildly.
Cech can be a respected, helpful No. 2 keeper who could help Leno steady his game.

With Sevilla looking to raise funds, Banega is reportedly being offered out to other clubs and Arsenal and Barcelona are said to be interested. Under Emery previously, Banega has played as a fairly deep-lying number 10.

He may turn 30 this year, but Sevilla are only asking for around €12 million for the technically gifted midfielder. The latest reports suggest Arsenal have a serious interest in the deal with Emery keen to unite with his former player.

We seem to have a lot of midfielders if signings go through.
They all won't get first team places regular.
Maybe Ramsey is off.

I saw Sevilla games fleetingly, and Banega does play with high intensity and energy. He is always coming into dangerous positions when attacking, and is very good at link up plays. Not sure about his end product though.

Would make a good addition, but I would have preferred we break the bank for Saul Niguez. Complete dynamic midfielder with his best years ahead of him.

We currently have Ramsey, Xhaka, Elneny, Maitland-Niles as out-and-out midfielders, plus Iwobi, Mkhitaryan and Ozil, and Torreira possibly on the way. Surely we'll only sign another if someone (presumably Ramsey) is off?

MattySadlerRecall Banega being an absolute star on Football Manager way back.
We currently have Ramsey, Xhaka, Elneny, Maitland-Niles as out-and-out midfielders, plus Iwobi, Mkhitaryan and Ozil, and Torreira possibly on the way. Surely we'll only sign another if someone (presumably Ramsey) is off?

Perhaps Wellbeck might be sold too - after all we have Aubemeyang, Lacazette, Iwobi and Nketiah

We also seem to have accumulated 10 defenders excluding Jenkinson (Bellerin, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal, Lichsteiner, Sokratis, Chambers, Mavropanos, Kolasinac, Holding) - surely another one of those must be likely to be sold?

So maybe a further budget of £25m for the right player - probably a tricky winger ?

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